Having just read Mitch Joel’s post, The End of Conversation in Social Media, I’ve been inspired to put into words something that’s been bouncing around in my skull for a while now. There are reasons conversation breaks down in the mass-media world of the internet, but I’ll have to explain a bit for you to understand. It’s a little geeky, but my brain runs on GeekOS so you’ll have to translate using whatever software your brain uses.

Ideas Are Just Files

Conversation as defined by the Oxford American Dictionary:

conversation |ˌkänvərˈsā sh ən|
noun
the informal exchange of ideas by spoken words

So conversation is the exchange of data from one brain to the next, like computers transferring files. It’s basic communication, right? Why do we as a human society have so much trouble with this? I’ve read studies that cite “Lack of communication” as the number one reason for divorce. Why is such a fundamental low-level task like exchanging data so complex and difficult for many to grasp?

Try thinking like a computer for a moment. The entire purpose of this blog post is to transfer a file, Conversation.idea from my brain into yours.

I’m typing on a Mac. With only 10% of the market share or less, chances are good you’re not reading this on a Mac. Not only are our brains two different machines, we’re very likely running on completely different software. Instead of three main options- Mac, Windows, Linux -every human being is running a unique version of an infinite number of operating systems. Philosophers would call this a “worldview” but philosophers don’t make the kind of money programmers do, so we’re sticking with my analogy.
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Okay, so I needed a rhyme for that post title. Could’ve been something vulgar, so make do with the Tom Cruise quote and get off my back already.

The important thing is that I now have two little buttons at the bottom of every blog post. See? They’re right there at the bottom. One’s from our favorite new method of saying very little, Twitter, and one’s from our benevolent overlords at Facebook. If you like something I’ve got to say, or if you just want to share it with your friends, please hit the buttons!

Futureproofing: Can’t see the buttons? It probably means both of those services have gone the way of MySpace and AOL. Don’t worry, there are probably other buttons already replacing them. Why are you reading a 6-month-old blog post anyway?

Don’t get the wrong impression… it’s not my album. My friend and indie cohort from Nashville with humongous hair has just dropped an awesome new record on the Music City called That’s Gravity. I just bought my copy and it’s picking me up better than a cup of coffee right now. I strongly recommend that you piano-rock fans go get this sucker! If you haven’t heard of Geoff Smith before, you probably haven’t known me that long either. He’s got a more Beatles-esque flavor to his music than I do, so brace yourself for the awesome.

Here are a few places to grab this album (all of them affiliate links, just FYI):

• CD Baby (Round Plastic or MP3)
• iTunes (DRM-Free AAC)
• Amazon (MP3)

And here’s the video for the title track:

My subscribers have been asking for it, so now they’ve got it. Those that didn’t make it into The Entourage can now join an exclusive group that’s one step below it: The Robot Army. Enlisting in the Robot Army entitles you to all the perks of a Matthew Ebel dot net VIP Membership plus:

• Signed, Framed Copies of all New Albums
• The Entire Matthew Ebel Catalog – Even “Life’s Been Good”
• First dibs on available Entourage Slots

I’ll try to think of more perks to add, but I’m open to suggestions from you folks! What would you want from an artist you support? Let me know!

Those of you that attended my 2010 Beer Bash know that I’m now working on a new album. Not a collection of songs, an album. If you weren’t there, well, I’m working on a new album!

The Lives of Dexter Peterson

A few years back I wrote a 120-page book for National Novel Writing Month, or NaNoWriMo. In thirty days I pounded out over 50,000 words and won the challenge on my first attempt. I was so proud of myself, I didn’t know I could produce anything that big in such a short period of time. The Lives of Dexter Peterson, draft one, had been born.

Then I sat on the manuscript. It’s actually been in a box in my basement since then. I didn’t see it or think about it until we moved from Boston to New Hampshire, but like buried treasure it surfaced during the boxing process. I’d forgotten how much fun I’d had with that story, especially given the ADD nature of the plot. I’ll save the details for later as the editing process heats up, but I will tell you that finding this book inspired me to write again.

I’ll be writing an album’s worth of music to accompany the story. One part companion disc, one part outright soundtrack, we’ll see how this turns out in a year. Oh yeah, and Genesis Whitmore will be making a full-length graphic novel to go with all of this.

How To Pre-Order

Isn’t it a bit early to talk about pre-ordering when I haven’t written a single note or lyric for the album? Not exactly. Again, as my Matthew Ebel dot net subscribers learned at the Beer Bash, any All-Access or higher membership is good for a copy of the album when it’s ready. A real, physical CD. Heck, the VIP’s and higher get the full package- album, printed material, audiobook, everything.

In addition, they’ll be getting updates throughout the project, from Gen’s sketches to my song ideas to behind-the-scenes videos from the studio. It’s going to be a heck of a project, so this is what my entire focus will be for the next year.

If you’re interested in getting on board, just grab a subscription at www.matthewebel.net/subscribe – and watch for my announcement “Introducing Dexter Peterson” soon!